How Long Does it Take To Factory Reset a Laptop?

It is a good idea to restore your laptop to factory settings (also known as recovery or delivery status) if it isn’t working properly or if it is infected with malware that you can’t remove with an antivirus. This will, however, erase all of your personal data, including documents, pictures, files, downloads, music, videos, and all other programs you have installed since buying the machine. Make sure you back up all your data online or on an external hard drive before starting your work. Therefore, you will be able to reset your device after the files are secured.

How Long Does it Take to Perform the Factory Reset?

What is the time it takes to reset a laptop factory setting? That’s a bit of a wild card question, unfortunately. Answering that question is impossible. In most cases, factory resetting a laptop takes less than 30 minutes, although it can take up to 3 hours depending on your operating system, processor speed, RAM, and type of hard drive. The process may even take the entirety of your day in rare cases. Similarly, you can use the recovery partition at the appropriate time, depending on your computer. If you instead use an installation disk you have already created, the whole process can usually be completed in less than 20 minutes on a fast machine. The entire device is wiped clean during this process, including the OEM bloatware.

You may need a Linux CD if your device cannot boot. Unfortunately, this is not possible for installed programs. If you restore factory settings, these will need to be reinstalled manually. Make sure you have your Windows activation key handy after you reinstall the operating system.

Factory Reset Methods

There are a number of ways in which you can have your machine factory reset. I will walk you through a few of those options.

Factory Reset Methods

Method 1 – Hold the Function key while booting

You may see a notification immediately after turning on your laptop from some manufacturers. Furthermore, you will learn how you can get to the settings by entering the function key. There is usually a message saying “Press F10 for Recovery” or something similar to that. If your device is the factory reset able, you can do so from the manufacturer’s menu options.

Method 2 – When the device is turned off, press the special key.

Keys are available on some keyboards from certain manufacturers. It is called “Assist” on Sony laptops (next to the power button); it is called “Novo” on Lenovo devices. In addition to the power button, there may be another power socket nearby. The key must be pressed to turn off the laptop. Upon startup, a menu will appear that leads to the recovery function (factory settings).

Method 3 – If Windows still works (assuming you have Windows 10)

Probably the easiest way to reset Windows is to use the settings. Go to the lower-left corner of the screen and click “Settings”. Additionally, the settings can also be opened by pressing Windows + i at the same time. You should now select “Restore” from the “Update and Security” menu. If you want to reset your PC, select “Let’s go”. Click “Keep my files” in the next window if you are still concerned about losing your files. Personal files will be kept despite this option deleting apps and settings. The “Remove all” option is available if you do not need your data anymore. You will then have to reset your PC or laptop. It usually takes some time for this process to complete.

Your programs and drivers will need to be reinstalled after the process is complete. It is possible to use a backup program beforehand to simplify this task.

Method 4 -USB booting

If Windows doesn’t start, you can use the previously created disc repair, restore the system to a certain date, or reset the startup environment to factory settings (illustrated guide).

Method 5 -You will have to install Windows fresh if nothing else works.

A fresh installation is the only thing that will come in handy if you are unable to start your PC or run the repair wizard. You can download the program from the Microsoft website by switching from another device. After creating the installation media for Windows 10, you can install the operating system. To burn the DVD or drag it to a USB stick, you will need sufficient space. Put the DVD in the DVD drive or the USB stick in the USB port. While the computer is booting, press the F key specified by the manufacturer. When the boot menu appears, pick the appropriate drive. To reinstall the operating system, click Troubleshoot and then Reset.

In addition to using the Media Creation Tool to reinstall Windows 10, you can also use an ISO file to reinstall it. This can be accomplished by downloading Windows installation files. Using this method will result in all your data being lost. The installation can easily be started with a double click after the ISO file has been downloaded.

The “Safe Mode” feature of Windows 10 is one of the ways to start the operating system. We have an advisory article that explains how to access Safe Mode.

Conclusion

Your mind has changed, and you no longer want to reset your PC? The data you back up to your external hard drive or another storage device will be accessible if you have already done this. If you performed the restore in Safe Mode, it is irreversible. When you restore through the System Restore options, you cannot undo it

At the time when you upgraded to Windows 10, you could not restore the factory settings if you already had Windows 7 or Windows 8 installed. Windows 10 may need to be manually installed in this case.

Depending on the input-output data rate of your computer, the entire process will take a considerable amount of time. A hard drive or a solid-state drive will make a difference here. Historically, HDD drives dominated the personal computer market, so factory resetting a laptop took a long time. In these days’ laptop computers, SSD drives come preinstalled, which makes factory resets much faster.